Journal
PARASITES & VECTORS
Volume 15, Issue 1, Pages -Publisher
BMC
DOI: 10.1186/s13071-022-05461-x
Keywords
Aedes; Fat body; Nutrient sensor; Amino acid transport; GCN1; Cationic amino acid transporter 1
Categories
Funding
- National Institute of Health [5SC1GM125584, 1R35GM144049]
- NMSU Howard Hughes Medical Institute
- New Mexico Alliance for Minority Participants Undergraduate Research Scholars Program
- NMSU Post-Doctoral Fellows Program
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This study identified a putative interacting protein GCN1 for the mosquito's CAT1 protein, which is important for egg development. The results suggest that GCN1 is part of the nutrient sensor mechanism in mosquitoes.
Background: The amino acid transporter protein cationic amino acid transporter 1 (CAT1) is part of the nutrient sensor in the fat body of mosquitoes. A member of the SLC7 family of cationic amino acid transporters, it is paramount for the detection of elevated amino acid levels in the mosquito hemolymph after a blood meal and the subsequent changes in gene expression in the fat body. Methods: We performed a re-annotation of Aedes aegypti cationic amino acid transporters (CATs) and selected the C-terminal tail of CAT1 to perform a yeast two-hybrid screen to identify putative interactors of this protein. One interesting interacting protein we identified was general control nonderepressible 1 (GCN1). We determined the expression pattern of GCN1 in several adult organs and structures using qRT-PCR and western blots. Finally, we knocked down GCN1 using double-stranded RNA and identified changes in downstream signaling intermediates and the effects of knockdown on vitellogenesis and fecundity. Results: In a screen for Ae. aegypti CAT1-interacting proteins we identified GCN1 as a putative interactor. GCN1 is highly expressed in the ovaries and fat body of the mosquito. We provide evidence that eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 subunit alpha (eIF2 alpha) phosphorylation changed during vitellogenesis and that RNA interference knockdown of GCN1 in whole mosquitoes reduced egg clutch sizes of treated mosquitoes relative to controls. Conclusions: Aedes aegypti CAT1 and GCN1 are likely interacting partners and GCN1 is likely necessary for proper egg development. Our data suggest that GCN1 is part of a nutrient sensor mechanism in various mosquito tissues involved in vitellogenesis.
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